Hat-stretcher.



K. WIGKERSHEI M. HAT STRETGHER. ABPLIOATION FILED OUT- 31, 1912.

1,065,856. Patented June 24, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES INVENTOR ATTORNEYS K; WICKERSHEIM.

HAT STRETGHER. APPLICATION FILED 001. 31, 1912.

1,065,856, Patented June24, 1913.

Z'SHEETS-SHEBT 2.

WIZ'NESSES INVENTOR HAT-STRETCHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 24, 1913.

App1ication filed October 31, 1912. Serial No. 728,800.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, KARL WICKERSHEIM, a subject of the German Emperor,and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in thecounty and State of New'York, have invented a new and ImprovedHat-Stretcher, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved hatstretcher, more especially designed for use in hat stores to permit ofconveniently and quickly stretching a hat, either all around or only atthe sides, or at the front and back, to insure proper fitting of the haton the wearers head. For the purpose mentioned, use is made of a centralsupport provided with two sets of guideways one above the other and atan angle one to the other, the guideways being spaced from the center ofthe support, stretching plates provided with rack bars slidingly andinterchangeably engaging the said guideways, and a gear wheel centrallyarranged in the said support and in mesh with the said rack bars.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in whichsimilar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all theviews.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the hat stretcher, the top plate of thesupport and the locking device being removed, the stretching platesbeing in position for stretching either the sides or the back and frontof the hat; Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same on the line22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a similar view of the same on the line 33 ofFig. 1; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the central portion of the hatstretcher and showing more particularly the locking device; and Fig. 5is a plan view of the hat stretcher with the top plate and lockingdevice removed, the stretching plates being in position for simultaneousoutward or inward movement for stretching a hat all around.

The hat stretcher is provided with a central support A provided with atop plate A fastened in place by set screws B or other fastening means,and the said central support A is provided with sets of guideways A Aand A A of which the guideways A A are parallel and at right angles tothe guide ways A, A which are also arranged parallel one to the other.The guideways A A are located in a plane below the guideways A, A (seeFig. 2). The guideways are spaced equal distances from the center of thesupport A and in the guideways are mounted to slide rack bars C, C, Cand C provided at their outer ends with stretching plates D, D, D and Dpr'eferably made of sheet metal capable of flexing and segmental inshape, to readily fit the inside of a hat for stretching the same, ashereinafter more fully explained. The rack bars C, C, C and C are inmesh with a gear wheel E having its hub E journaled in the support A andits top plate A, and the hub E is provided with a polygonal bore forengagement by the correspondingly shaped end F of a key F having ahandle F to permit the operator to turn the key F with a view to rotatethe gear wheel E. The handle F is shaped so as to form a supporting baseadapted to rest on a table or other support to support the hat stretcherand the hat held thereon. When the several parts are arranged as shownin Fig. 1 and the gear wheel E is turned in the direction of the arrowat then the rack bars C, C and their stretching plates D, D are movedoutwardly in opposite directions, that is, in the direction of thearrows b, to stretch the front and back of a hat. During the outwardmovement of the rack bars C, C the other rack bars C C and theirstretching plates D", D move inwardly so as to be out of contact withthe sides of the hat while the latter is stretched front and rear. Whenit is desired to stretch the sides of the hat the gear wheel E is turnedin the inverse direct-ion of the arrow at so that the rack bars C C andtheir stretching plates D D move outwardly in engagement with the sidesof the hat to stretch the same while the rack bars C and C and theirstretching plates D, D move inwardly. When it is desired to stretch thehat all around then the rack bars G G are disengaged from theirguideways A A and the rack bar C is inserted into theguideway A whilethe rack bar C is moved into engagement with the guideway A (see Fig.5). Now when the several parts are in this position and the gear wheel Eis turned in the direction of the arrow at then the several rack bars C,C, C and C move simultaneously outwardly in the direction of the arrowscl so that the stretching plates D, D, D and D simultaneously engage theinside of the hat to stretch the hat all around.

In order to lock the rack bars C, C, C and C and their plates D, D, Dand D at the time they are in outermost position, the followingarrangement is made: The upper end E of the hub E of the gear wheel E ismade polygonal and on it fits a gear wheel G adapted to be engaged bythe angular ends H, H of a double pawl H pivoted at its middle at H onthe top plate A. The back of the pawl H is engaged by the free end of aspring I held on the upper end of a lever I fulcrumed at I on one sideof the support A, and the lower end of the lever I is provided with afinger piece I (see Figs. 2' and 3) under the control of the operatorfor imparting a swinging motion to the lever I with a view to cause thespring I to impart a' swinging motion to the pawl H with a view toengage either end H or H with the gear wheel G. It is understood thatwhen the end H of the pawl H is in mesh with the gear wheel G then thegear wheel G is held against turning in the direction of the arrow a,and when the pawl H is reversed and its end H is moved into engagementwith the gear wheel G then the latter locked against turning in theinverse direction of the arrow (1.. Thus when using the stretchingplates D and D for stretching purposes the pawl H is moved into such aposition that the end H is in mesh with the gear wheel G and when thestretching plates D D" are used for stretching purposes the pawl H isthrown into the position shown in Fig. 4. hen moving the stretchingplates D, D, D and D simultaneously in position for stretching purposesthen the end H of the pawl H in engagement with the gear wheel G toallow turning of the gear wheel G in one direction and to lock itagainst return movement.

One of the rack bars, as shown, the rack bar C", is provided with agraduation (see Fig. 1) to indicate hat sizes thus enabling the user ofthe stretcher to correctly stretch the stretcher to a desired size.

In practice, the rack bar C, C, C or C is preferably connected with thecorresponding stretching plate D, D, D or D by the use of a head (3*held on the outer end of the rack bar and riveted or otherwise securedto the corresponding stretching plate. As the rack bars are out ofcenter relative to the support A the heads C are somewhat to one side ofthe middle of the corresponding stretching plate, and in order toproperly support a stretching plate use is preferably made of anadditional head J secured to the stretching plate at the opposite sideof the middle of the stretching plate at which the head O is located,and

this extra head J is connected by a link or a brace K with acorresponding rack bar. Both heads C and J are provided withoutwardly-extending flanges C J in'which set screws L, L abuttingagainst the outer ends of the corresponding stretching plate to permitof flexing the ends of the stretch ing plate outward so as to accuratelyfit the stretching plate against the inner surface of the hat to bestretched.

The stretcher shown and described is very simple and durable inconstruction and is exceedingly serviceable for use in hatstores topermit of conveniently and quickly stretching a hat either all around oronly at the sides or at the front and back, to insure proper fitting ofthe hat on the wearers head.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

. 1. A hat stretcher, comprising a central support provided with twosets of guide ways one above the other and at an angle to the same, theguideways being spaced from the center of the support, stretching platesprovided with rack-bars slidingly and interchangeably engaging the saidguideways, and a gear wheel centrally arranged in the said support andinmesh with the said rack bars.

2. A hat stretcher, comprising a central support provided with two setsof guideways one above the other and atan angle to the same, theguideways being spaced from the center of the support, stretching platesprovided with rack bars slidingly and horizontally engaging the saidguideways, a gear wheel centrally arranged in the said support and inmesh with the said rack bars, a toothed locking wheel on the said gearwheel outside of the support, a double pawl pivoted on the said support,and means for manipulating the said pawl to throw either end intoengagement with the said locking wheel.

3. A hat stretcher, comprising a central support provided with two setsof guideways one above the other and at an angle to the same, theguideways being spaced from the center of the support, stretching platesprovided with rack bars slidingly and interchangeably engaging the saidguideways, a gear wheel centrally arranged in the said support and inmesh with the said rack bars, a toothed locking wheel on the said gearwheel outside of the support, a double pawl pivoted on the said support,a lever fulcrumed on the said support, and a spring on the said leverand engaging the said pawl to manipulate the latter.

at. A hat stretcher, comprising a central support provided with two setsof guideways one above the other and at an angle to the same, theguideways being spaced from the center of the support, stretching platesprovided with rack bars slidingly and horizontally engaging the saidguideways, a gear wheel centrally arranged in the said support and inmesh with the said rack bars, and a key engaging the said gear wheel forturning the latter, the key having a supporting base and forming a standfor the hat stretcher.

5. A hat stretcher, comprising a central support having two sets ofguideways one above the other and at right angles to each other, rackbars slidably mounted in the guideways and carrying stretching plates attheir outer ends, a centrally arranged gear wheel engaging the rackbars, means for operating the gear wheel, a toothed wheel carried by thegear Wheel, and a double pawl pivot-ed on the support and adapted toengage the toothed wheel to prevent it from turning in either direction.

6. A hat stretcher provided with a filexible stretching plate, a rackbar having a head secured to the said stretching plate to one side ofthe middle of the plate, a lug secured to the stretching plate at theother side of the middle of the plate, and a link connecting the saidrack bar wit-h the said lu A hat stretcher provided with a flexiblestretching plate, a rack bar having a head secured to the saidstretching plate to one side of the middle of the plate, a lug securedto the stretching plate at the other side of the middle of the plate, alink connecting the said rack bar with the said lug, the said head andthe said lug having outwardlyextending flanges, and set screws screwingin the said flanges and abutting against the outer ends of the saidplate to flex the said outer end.

8. A hat stretcher provided with a stretching plate, a rack bar having ahead project ing from one side thereof and secured to the stretchingplate at one side of the center of the same, an auxiliary head securedat one end to the stretching plate at the other side of the middlethereof, a link connecting the fixed end of the auxiliary head with therack bar, and screws mounted in the outer ends of the said heads andengaging the stretching plate.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

KARL WIOKERSHEIM.

Witnesses:

THEO. Gr. Hosrnn, PHILIP D. ROLLHAUS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

